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Home / New Zealand

Hawke’s Bay weekend events: Meatball Festival, beer day and Holi colours

Hawkes Bay Today
4 Mar, 2026 04:00 AM3 mins to read

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It's a busy weekend in Hawke's Bay with the Hastings Meatball Festival, Beer Appreciation Day and Hawke's Bay Holi Festival all happening, with beautiful weather forecast. Photo / NZME composite 04 March 2026 NZME composite image

It's a busy weekend in Hawke's Bay with the Hastings Meatball Festival, Beer Appreciation Day and Hawke's Bay Holi Festival all happening, with beautiful weather forecast. Photo / NZME composite 04 March 2026 NZME composite image

Excitement is building over Friday’s Meatball Festival – yet visitors to Hawke’s Bay will find it’s just the meaty cherry atop this weekend’s event cake.

From Friday to Sunday the region will host a number of events sure to fill stomachs and hearts.

The ball drops on the second annual Hastings Meatball Festival at 5pm Friday at the Heretaunga St East Block, near Toitoi Events Centre.

Featuring local and nationally renowned chefs doing their best interpretations of Hastings’ favourite bakery bite, all vying to win the festival’s coveted One NZ People’s Choice award, plus live music, drink pop-ups, lawn games and a whānau-friendly vibe across the city centre.

Festival organiser and self-appointed Chief Meatball Officer Vicky Roebuck said people from around the country were on their way to Hastings, just for the festival.

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“It’s really cementing the festival’s growing reputation as a must-do foodie event on the national calendar,” she said.

Children under 12 attend for free, and tickets to the event for all those older are available online from the Hastings District Council website.

Saturday in Havelock North is Beer Appreciation Day at Duart House.

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The event runs from midday until 6.30pm, with local and out-of-town brewers and fermented beverage purveyors taking over the grounds of the historic house, amid a laid-back atmosphere and live music, DJ tunes and of course, the food offerings.

Tickets for the event are available on the Beer Appreciation Day website.

On Sunday, the Hindu Council of Hawke’s Bay is throwing a Holi Festival celebration at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park.

Holi Festival, also known as the festival of colours and the festival of love, is the vibrant Hindu festival marking the arrival of spring in India in which festival-goers throw brightly coloured powders known as gulal at each other – turning the festival in an explosion of colour.

it runs from 11am until 2pm and festival organiser Sandhya Kapoor said she was expecting big numbers to come along and enjoy the food stalls, music and organic gulal to throw.

Kapoor invited all ethnicities of Hawke’s Bay to join in the fun, get covered in colour and enjoy some of the best Indian food in the country in gorgeous weather.

MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said “things are looking pretty good” for Hawke’s Bay’s weather over the weekend.

“Generally speaking, the weather trend for Hawke’s Bay is light winds and mostly clear skies,” Lynden said.

Napier will have highs of 24C and 25C across the weekend, with lows of 12C and 14C, while Hastings will have highs of 26C and 27C, with lows of 10C and 12C.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.

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